Spreading machine



y 1936 v. F. BAIUMGARDNER 2,046,603 I SPREADING MACHINE Filed May 6, 1935 v2 Sheets-Sheet l MVEN'Q y .7, 936- v. F. BAUMGARDNER 6,603

SPREADING MACHINE Filed May 6, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 H PIE: 7.

Patented July 7, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SPREADING MACHINE. Versal Forrest Baumgardner, Celina, Ohio Application May 6, 1935, Serial No. 19,948

5 Claims. (Cl. 275-2) This invention relates to machines for spreading crushed stone, gravel, or other relatively fine material onhighways, and has particular reference to a machine of this character adapted for 5 connection or attachment to a motor truck to be either pushed or pulled thereby.

The primary object of the invention is the provision of an improved machine of this character which is easy to handle, simple in construc- 10 tion, and eilicient in its operation, whereby to enhance the practical utility and .commercial value thereof.

I A specific object of the invention is the provision of a material holding hopper of such form 15 that the material therein cooperates therewith to substantially balance the hopper on its pivotal support and thereby facilitate handling.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a novel control for the material discharge 20 outlet of the hopper, which will prevent material discharging from the hopper except when a cooperating rotatable feed element is operating for such purpose.

Other objects and advantages of the invention 25 will be apparent from the following detailed description, and from the accompanying drawings illustrating one embodiment thereof,- and in which.-

Figure 1 is a perspective elevation of .a ma- 9 chine embodying the invention and showing the side thereof attached to a vehicle and its man= ner of attachment; Fig. 2 is an enlarged section on the line 2-2 in Fig. 1 showing an operative feeding of material therefrom; Fig. 3 is a top 35 plan view of a central fragmentary portion of the machine; Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary section on the line 4-4 in Fig.- 3; Fig. 5 is an elevation of the side of the machine from which the material is discharged with a part broken 40 away; Fig. 6 is a bottom view of one end portion thereof with parts broken away; Fig. '7 is an enlarged detailed fragmentary view of a side portion of the feed roll with a part in central longitudinalsection; Fig. 8 is a perspective view 45 of the feed control means of the machine; Fig. 9

is an enlarged section on the line 9-9 in Fig. 8; Fig. 10 is an elevation of one end of the machine with a part broken away, and Fig. 11 is a fragmentary detail of the material agitating means, 5 Referring to the drawings, I designates the body of the machine, which is ofhopper form to contain the material to be spread and elongated transversely of the line of travel of the machine. This body comprises what. may be 5 termed the rear side 2, which is adjacent to the vehicle to which the machine is attached, the opposite or front side 3, the opposite ends 4 and. 5 and the bottom 6. The bottom 6 is formed so that it is elevated intermediate its front and rear edges to form the hopper with an inner leg por- 5 tion I and an outer leg portion 8, both of which extend lengthwise of the hopper and receive the material to be spread when it is dumped into the hopper. The purpose of this will be hereinafter described.

The elevated portion of the bottom is preferably of arcuate form, as shown at 9, and preferably disposed in somewhat closer relation to the rear side 2 of the hopper than to the front side 3, sothat the material discharge leg 8 of the hopper 15 is wider than the material receiving leg portion 1.

The hopper body I is mounted on a pair of wheels l0 and II, each mounted beneath the elevated portion of the hopper bottom on a respective shaft I2 mounted in suitable bearings provided at the under side of the hopper. These wheels project up into the space provided at the under side of the hopper body by the elevated bottom portion 9, and the wheel I l, in the present instance, serves as the drive wheel for the feedroll l3, which partially closes and is mounted lengthwise of the discharge opening of the hopper. The driving connection between the shaft l2 and the adjacent end of the feed-roll l3 includes a reverse gearing of any suitable form, mounted in a casing l4, and a chain and sprocket wheel connection l5 between the reverse gearing and the feed wheel shaft, as best shown in Figs. 6 and 10.. The control lever lit for the reverse gearing projects therefrom in convenient operating posi- 5 tion without the adjacent end of the hopper body. The purpose of the reverse gearing is to enable the feed-roll. 13 to be. driven in the same direction relative to the hopper body when the attachment is being pushed as when it is being pulled by a truck. I

The feed-roll I3 is disposed below the discharge opening of the hopper in the path of discharge of material therefrom and at its inner side has its periphery disposed in relatively close relation to the adjacent lower edge portion of the elevated or circular portion 9 of the bottom to prevent material from discharging between such edge and the roll. To further prevent such discharge, a guard plate I1 projects from such edge of the hopper bottom downwardly and outwardly a distance under the roll in quite close relation thereto, as shown in Fi h I011 has material feeding rotation in a clockwise direction in Fig. 2, which is outwardly from the adjacent elevated portion of the bottom.

The lower edge of the outer side 3 of the hopper terminates a short distance above the feed-roll I3 and forwardly of its vertical center line, as best shown in Fig. 2. A damper or valve member 20 of elongated plate form is pivotally attached to the lower edge of the side 3 and projects inward therefrom over the feed-roll periphery, at least, to a. vertical plane which registers with the roll axis lengthwise thereof. It is found preferable in practice, however, to extend the damper 20 slightly inward past the vertical longitudinal center plane of the feed-roll, as indicated in Fig. 2.

The damper 20 comprises a flexible blade which, in length, is substantially coextensive with the length of the discharge opening and which has its hinged edge fixedly attached to a plurality of sleeves 2| fixedly mounted on a control shaft 22. This shaft is, in turn, carried by. a plurality of bearing sleeves 23, which alternate with the sleeves 2| and are attached to the lower edge of the hopper side 3, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5. The shaft 22 is preferably split near its center, as

shown in Fig. 8, and each section is provided at its outer end with a control arm 24, which extends upwardly at the outer side of the respective end of the hopper and has a detent pro jecting therefrom adapted to be placed in engagement with any one of a series of depressions provided in a sector plate 25 on the hopper end. It is thus'apparent that the two sections of the shaft may be placed in different relative positions of rotary adjustment, so as to cause the discharge opening between the free edge of the damper 20 and feed-roll to be wider at one end portion than at the other.

The peripheral surface. of the feed-roll i3 is provided with two series of spirally disposed grooves 26, one series being of right-hand and Q the other of left-hand formation, so that the grooves of one series repeatedly intersect those of the other and form the surface of the roll with a multiplicity of substantially fiat diamond shaped surfaces, as best shown in Fig. 7. These grooves are of appreciable depth and their side walls are substantially radially disposed and substantially parallel. This is found to facilitate the control of the feeding ofv material from the hopper, particularly when'a fine grade of material, such for instance, as sand, is employed. If it is desired to obtain a fine spread of sand or other similar flne material, the free edge of the damper may be permitted to substantially contact with the periphery of the feed-roll, so that the only material discharged is that which enters the grooves of the feed-roll and is carried forward thereby in its feeding movement. The spiral arrangement of the grooves and also the provision of the intersecting series of grooves facilitates the feeding action when the feed-roll is being rotated, and also tends to prevent material flowing freely from the hopper through the discharge opening when the feed-roll is at rest. The provision of the grooves in the surface of the feedroll also serves to effect a more positive and uniform feeding of material irrespective of the grade of material being spread or the width of the discharge space between the damper and feed-' roll. The provision of the surface projections on the feed-roll is also important as tending to prevent clogging of the feed opening, for when an oblong piece of stone, which is too long in one dimension to pass through the feed opening, is

struck by one of the projections, it is turned over thereby so that it may present a small dimension to the opening and pass therethrough.

The clogging of material in the discharge leg 8 of the hopper is prevented by provision therein 5 of a rotary agitator, the shaft 30 of which is disposed lengthwise of such space, being journaled at its ends in the end walls of the hopper and having agitating pins 3| projecting at intervals therefrom. An end of this shaft projects 10 without the hopper end 5 and'has chain and sprocket wheel connection 32 with the shaft carrying the wheel, as shown in Fig. 10. Such connection may be through the reverse gearing employed for driving the feed wheel.

The hitch means shown for attaching the spreading machine to the frame 40 of a truck, or other vehicle, need not be specifically described, as it forms the subject-matter of a separate application and, so far as the invention herein 20 disclosed is concerned, any suitable means may be employed for detachably connecting the spreading machine to a tractor.

An arm 4| projects from the inner side of the machine body at each end to facilitate manual 25 handling of the machine when being attached to or detached from a tractor.

It is customary in machines of this class, so far as I am aware, to provide the hopper with an inclined bottom which tapers downwardly to- 30 ward the material discharge opening. With such hoppers, the greater weight of the material at practically all times is at the discharge side of the pivotal support of the hopper and this unbalanced condition is increased as the load in 35 the hopper diminishes during the discharging operation. In view of this, it is apparent that when the bulk of the material is discharged from the hopper, so that all the material remaining therein is at one side of the pivotal support for the hopper, the hopper is in a badly unbalanced condition, which is particularly noticeable and objectionable when manually attaching the spreading machine to a truck or detaching it therefrom. In order to overcome this unbalanced condition and the objections incident thereto, the hopper is provided with an elevated bottom portion which leaves a material receiving leg at each side of the hopper, so that the material in the discharge side is counterbalanced partially, at least, by the material in the opposite side.

It is apparent that during the discharging of material from .the hopper, the quantity of material in the counterbalancing leg portion 1 thereof remains substantially constant except that its height may be somewhat lowered from the completely full extent by the normal gravity flow of the material from the rear to the front discharging side of the hopper. When, however, the material is lowered sufficiently in the rear side of 60 the hopper, so it will no longer flow over the elevated center point of the hopper bottom, the material in'the leg I remains constant while the material in the opposite leg may continue to discharge so long as the feeding operation of 65 the roll I3 is continued. When stopping the feeding operation preparatory to removing the machine from a tractor, a suflicient quantity of material is permitted to remain in the outlet leg I 8 to substantially counterbalance the weight of 70 the material in the leg 1, thus enabling the machine to be easily handled in moving it to and of the hopper and the elevated bottom portion 9 at the central portion thereof to serve as a brace for the wall 2 at the point of attachment of the truck hitching means thereto.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by United StatesLetters Patent, is: 4

1. In a machine of the class described, a hopper member having an elongated discharge opening at one side, a flexible damper extending lengthwise of said opening, means mounting said damper for adjusting movements to vary the size of the opening and operable to lengthwise flex the damper to vary the size of the discharge opening lengthwise thereof.

2. In a machine of the class described, a material receiving hopper having an elongated discharge opening, a feed roll mounted adjacent to said opening and operating to partially close the same, a damper cooperating with the feed-roll to further close the opening, said damper comprising a blade which is-flexible lengthwise of the feed roll, and means operable to adjust the blade relative to the feed-roll to vary the effective size of the opening and also operable to flex the blade to vary the size of the opening lengthwise thereof.

3. In a machine of the class described, a hopper having an elongated material discharge opening, a feed roll in said opening. a sectional rockshaft mounted lengthwise of the opening in spaced relation to the feed-roll, each section being independently rockable,,a blade fixed to and projecting from said'shafts for rocking movements therewith and to cooperate with said feedroll to regulate the e fiective size of said discharge opening, said blade being flexible to permit different adjustment of different portions thereof by difierent adjusting movements of said shaft sections.

4. In a machine of the class described, a ma- 5 terial receiving hopper having an elongated discharge opening, a feed roll mounted adjacent to said opening and operating to partially close the same, a damper disposed over said roll lengthwise thereof and cooperating with said roll to regulate the 'efiective material discharge portion of said opening, said damper being mounted for pivotal adjustment about an axis parallel to the roll axis and being capable of lengthwise flexing adjustment, whereby the effective portion of the discharge opening may have a portion thereof larger than another portion, and means for effecting the pivotal and flexing adjustment of said damper.

5. In a machine of the class described, a ma- 2o terial receiving hopper having an*el0ngated discharge opening, a feed roll mounted adjacent to said opening and operating to partially close the same, a blade-like damper projecting over said feed roll and having a straight edge portion cooperating with the feed roll to regulate the effective size of the material discharge opening, said damper being mounted for pivotal adjustment about an axis substantially parallel to the feed roll axis and also being flexible to permit a spiral-like distortion of the damper to efiect a variance in the size of the opening lengthwise of the damper, and means operable to pivotally and flexibly adjust the damper.

VERSAL FORREST BAUMGARDNER. 

